又到小年啦，俗话说：过了小年就是年，过完小年，中国的新年也算正式拉开帷幕了，家家户户都开始准备年货、打扫房屋。

在中国的不同地区，过小年的日子也不同。

一般来说，北方大部分地区都是在腊月二十三过小年，而南方大部分地区则是在腊月二十四过小年。

不仅如此，不同地区过小年的风俗也不相同，今天我们就结合小年的传统，来学习如何描述“一个你们国家的传统”这道话题吧！

Describe a tradition in your country.

You should say:  

What is it  

Who takes part in it  

What activities there are  

And explain how you feel about it.  

To talk about a certain tradition in China, I would like to say something about the Little New Year, usually a week before the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 4 this year. It is also known as the Festival of the Kitchen God, the deity who oversees the moral character of each household. Almost everyone would participate in this day.

One of the most distinctive traditions of the Little New Year is the burning of a paper image of the Kitchen God, dispatching the god's spirit to Heaven to report on the family's conduct over the past year. The Kitchen God is then welcomed back to the home through the pasting of a new year image of him beside the stove. From this vantage point, the Kitchen God will oversee and protect the household for another year. 

Also, on this day, old couplets and paper-cuts from the previous Spring Festival are taken down, and new window decorations, New Year posters, and auspicious decorations are pasted up. I feel the occasion is very traditional, and it's a precious moment for everyone. 

本期话题关键词：

1. deity n. 神

2. dispatch  v. 派遣

3. from this vantage point 从这个有利的角度

4. auspicious  adj. 有前途的,有希望的,吉祥的,吉兆的